


A Gift Worthy Of Him

by GenerallyHuxurious (GallifreyanOmnishambles)



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Biting, Emperor Hux, Gift Giving, Jewelry, Kissing, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Misunderstandings, Nudity, Power Imbalance, Presents, Relationship Negotiation, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-02
Updated: 2017-10-02
Packaged: 2019-01-08 04:43:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12247230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GallifreyanOmnishambles/pseuds/GenerallyHuxurious
Summary: Hux has been trying to make a gift for Mitaka for the last year, but he hasn't been able to quite get it right...





	A Gift Worthy Of Him

**Author's Note:**

> I got two prompts on Tumblr for 'Jewellery' and one for 'Kingly' for the Fluffy Alphabet Prompts, so decided to combine them...

The day had been a long one. 

He’d woken with the dawn and slipped out of the Emperor’s apartments before Hux had managed more than his first sip of caf. There hadn’t been time for more than a soft kiss on the cheek as he left.

Now it was long past midnight.

Hux should be asleep by now. 

Tomorrow was the first anniversary of his coronation- Hux needed to be well-rested if he was going to be at his best for the celebrations.

It was no surprise to Dopheld when he opened the door to the Imperial sitting room to find Hux still sitting on the couch facing the windows. 

He often sat there far longer than he should, watching the stars and perhaps trying to recreate the effect of living on a Star Destroyer. Dopheld knew he missed it- they both did- but tonight there wasn’t the usual recording of engine sounds in the background. 

Just silence, and the sound of Hux breathing. 

At first Dopheld thought he was asleep. There was no glow of a datapad in his hand, or the shimmer of an active hologram on the table in front of him. Dopheld couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Hux alone without his work close at hand.

“Pheld?”

Dopheld smiled at the nickname and gently closed the door. “You should be sleeping your majesty…”

“Don’t.” Hux snapped. “Please.”

Ah, one of those moods then. Well, it was to be expected, when else would Hux have a crisis of confidence than the night before the anniversary of his greatest success.

Perhaps he should go and wake the Lord Protector, perhaps Kylo could threaten some sense into him…

“I’m sorry Dopheld, I just… please, sit by me.”

Crossing the floor with the silence expected of his station, Dopheld rounded the couch to see that Hux was wearing his old First Order uniform and clutching a square box barely wider than his knees. 

Sudden visions of military suicides flickered unwanted across his brain. Hadn’t some of the old Imperial’s done that? Dressed in their finery to end it? But why would Hux…

“Please, sit.” Hux repeated, glancing up at Dopheld with unusual nervousness. He was repeatedly tracing the edges of the box with his fingertips, a kind of worried fidgeting that Dopheld hadn’t seen from him since the war ended.

“Sir, what’s wrong?”

“Can you not use honorifics today, ‘Pheld? Please?”

“Of course, S… Armitage, I’m just concerned.”

“If you don’t sit down I will drag you down!” Hux snapped. The shaky laugh that followed it might have been intended to reassure, but Dopheld just found it even more worrying. 

Still, he did as he was asked, perching on the edge of the couch with his knees turned towards his nervous Emperor. 

“Are you happy, Dopheld?”

“Oh very, S… Yes, yes I’m very happy with my role.” It was the truth, and easy to say. As householder manager for the palace he had exactly as much authority as he might wish, and as little political involvement as he could hope for. The fact the role allowed him to continue his relationship with Hux with the minimal of fuss was a marvellous bonus.

“I meant- are you happy with me? With our relationship?”

Ah, so that’s what Hux meant. No wonder he was nervous, no doubt the political marriage the court had always pushed for was on the cards at last.

“Yes. Oh yes, of course I’m happy, I hope I’ve never given you reason to think otherwise! I cherish every day I’ve been allowed to have with you. If… if that now has to come to an end, well, it won’t erase what we had. I’ll never stop loving you.”

Hux stared at him for a long pause, his brow creased into a frown. He seemed about to ask a question, but in the end he turned to gaze out of the windows again.

Just as Dopheld thought he might have been dismissed, Hux asked, “do you remember the gala ball last month?”

Of course, Dopheld had spent the six weeks proceeding it drowning in preparations. He nodded.

“There was a woman there, wearing the finest silks the galaxy has to offer and the plainest jewellery I’ve ever seen at such an event.” Hux said without turning his head. “Ren said she was from the same planet as your parents.”

“Yes, Shysia Burhod, she’s the daughter of their most powerful matriarch, but I think she…”

“I’m not interested in the woman.” Hux interrupted. “Ren said the jewellery was a symbol of power in their society.”

Dopheld really was lost now. He wished Hux would get to the point or at least be a little less obscure with his dialogue. His heart was in his throat and if Hux didn’t make himself clear soon, Dopheld feared the tension might just kill him.

“My parents were exiles, Sir, we lived by the standards of the First Order,” Dopheld tried to explain, “but yes, my father once said that giving a gift of complex jewellery was akin to an insult. The value in something highly worked is in the craftsmanship, not the metal, but if one melts it down you’re left with only metal and air. The ‘finest’ jewellery in our tradition is the plainest. A simple band or block or sphere of the purest grade metal is a way of carrying your wealth with you. It doesn’t need to be elaborate because it is perfect in itself.”

Hux turned to look at him then, eyes glittering into dark like they were full of stars. His fingers were cold where they stroked Dopheld’s jaw, but he leaned into the touch anyway.

“It doesn’t need to be elaborate because it is perfect in itself.” Hux repeated softly. “Hmm. Just like you.”

“Oh, Si…” He swallowed the half said word and felt his cheeks flush pink.

Hux raised an eyebrow. “We must break you of that habit, Pheld, we really must.”

Before Dopheld could reply Hux was tapping the lid of the box. “I meant to give this to you a year ago,” He said with a wry smile. “Well, not this exactly. I couldn’t get the design right. Whatever I did, it came out wrong. Beautiful, but not right for you. I couldn’t see you wearing it. I couldn’t picture what you might wear  _ with _ it. Nothing worked until Ren pointed out the jewellery that woman was wearing.”

Dopheld was beyond confused. Why was Hux wearing his old uniform and talking about jewellery? What had he meant to give him a year ago? Why would Hux have given  _ him  _ anything before his own coronation?

“My research said the metal should be as pure as possible, and the same the whole way through,” Hux continued as he carefully lifted the lid of the box away, “my original designs included cores or woven strands of different metals, each with its own meaning, but the results were too gaudy or too heavy. This seemed right for you.”

Hux held out the box toward Dopheld with a slightly trembling grip, swallowing audibly when Dopheld reached for the black velvet inside. 

When he twitched the velvet aside the object beneath seemed to fill the room with a soft silvery glow, or perhaps that was just the effect of the tears in Dopheld’s eyes.

“I’m sorry I let you live the last year as my secretary, thinking you had to sneak in and out of these quarters every day like I was ashamed of what we have. I… I wanted to ask you before the coronation, but I lost my nerve. There was so much talk of politically advantageous marriages, and you were so content with your role that…” Hux paused to squeeze Dopheld’s hand and make him look up. “I wasn’t sure you’d want me.”

Dopheld glanced down at the box again, then back at Hux. “Armitage, of course I want you, I want to spend the rest of my life at your side but… what is this? What are you asking me?”

“I don’t want to marry for politics. I want to marry the person who stayed at my side, even when it seemed like they’d be stuck as my servant.” Hux said as he reached into the box. “This is purest songsteel. Traditionally it is used in weapons since it is resistant to lightsabers, but I couldn’t think of anything else more fitting for you.”

It was a simple circlet, a wide thick loop of silver than glittered and shone with astonishing luminescence despite the lack of the detailing on its surface. 

“Deceptively light and strong, valuable and beautiful- just like you.” Hux held out the circlet, “Dopheld Mitaka, will you marry me?”

Never in a million years would Dopheld have guessed that Hux would ask that question, or that he’d been considering it for over a year. 

“Why are you wearing your old uniform?” 

Dopheld had not intended to ask that, but his mind was entirely blank except for the distant sound of screaming at the situation. It wasn’t bad screaming, but it definitely proved that his brain was not keeping up with current events.

Hux glanced down at himself with a soft sort of smile.

“I… I didn’t want to ask you this as Emperor. But… I’ve never owned any informal clothing, other than bedroom wear. I wanted to ask you as close to equals as I could and this uniform is rather like your own.”

“You were a General, and I was a Lieutenant. Hardly equal.” Dopheld reached out and covered Hux’ hands where they held the circlet. “We aren’t equal, we never have been, and that is okay. But I have to know what this means before I accept.”

“We’re equal when we’re together,” Hux muttered, leaning forward until their foreheads pressed together. “When we’re just men and nothing else.”

“Then ask me there.”

Hux frowned slightly, but he placed the circlet back in the box and stood, offering Dopheld his free hand as he rose. 

Dopheld took it and followed him into the bedroom, wondering distantly when he’d gotten so bold, and so foolish. Why was he pressing Hux like this when it was clear the man was already nervous beyond reason?

He really didn’t know. 

Perhaps it was because he’d truly never expected this. He’d understood his place in the galaxy- at Hux’ right hand but always a step or two behind. A lover yes, but a servant first and foremost. He’d made his peace years ago with the fact that Hux would have to marry someone else. 

In a drawer in his office sat the files he’d prepared when Hux became Emperor. All the protocols necessary for the Emperor’s wedding, how the Consort or Empress would fit into the household, the celebrations for their first child and any that followed… every possible eventuality mapped with precision. He’d never expected to be the one stepping into the role.

He was out of sorts and so he was pushing Hux further out of his comfort zone as well.

If it had taken Hux a year to get up the nerve to do this then surely he must have thought it through. But how deeply had he considered it.

The Emperor’s bedroom entirely reflected the Emperor’s taste, but for the little corner of the dressing room that Dopheld had claimed for his own. Everywhere opulent pewter and highlights of ice blue amid the deep sapphire velvets. 

Hux looked out of place there in his old satin dress uniform. A year in the closet had left the satin dull and dusty, the belt sat incorrectly on his hips where the stress of rule had melted a little more fat from his bones. 

Dopheld felt a little guilty as Hux carefully placed the box on the bed and turned towards him. Why was he adding to that stress? Why hadn’t he noticed the weight loss before? Why wasn’t he taking better care of his Emperor?

Although Hux’ boots were silent on the carpet Dopheld could still hear the echo of the heels against the decking as Hux stalked across the floor. He wore the same look he’d had on the bridge that day when he’d requested a private meeting with Lieutenant Mitaka at the end of his shift. A haughty kind of fear, as if a straight enough back would protect him from embarrassment.

It had worked that time. When Hux had pinned Dopheld to the edge of his desk and kissed him until neither of them could breathe properly it had never occurred to Dopheld to say anything but a breathless ‘yes’. Hux was his General, he was his direct report, it should have been forbidden, but Hux had defied the rules so why should he worry?

Things were different now. Hux wasn’t just the most powerful man in the fleet- he had the whole galaxy at his feet. Dopheld needed to know where he stood, he needed to know this was real, and not just a fantasy that would come crashing down around their ears.

“Why me?” Dopheld asked as Hux stepped behind him, resting his forehead against Dopheld’s hair while his fingers trailed up the front of his jacket.

“Why not?” Hux retorted as the first few fastenings opened under his touch. “Where would I be without you ‘Pheld? Without your planning and organisation? Your care and the seemingly endless supply of caf when times are hardest?”

“You won’t lose that if you marry someone else.” It broke his heart to say it but it was true. He’d always sworn that he’d stay in the role whatever happened. 

His jacket was eased carefully off his shoulders and he couldn’t help but be struck by the switching of their roles- it was usually him who undressed the Emperor when they happened to retire at the same time. 

“I won’t wake up next to you any more,” Hux said, kissing along his collarbone while his hands reached for his belt. “I won’t have your heartbeat to listen to when sleep evades me, or your arms when the nightmares get too much.”

His heart was about ready to tear out of his chest. Hux never spoke of those things, neither of them did. They just reached for one another in the dark, and that was enough.

“Oh, Armitage.” He sighed, trying to take his hand. 

But Hux was moving again, circling around to stand in front of him. There was a soft sweet kiss against his lips, and then Hux was kneeling. An awkward moment of uncertain balance followed as Hux eased off Dopheld’s boots and socks.

“Do you know how many proposals of marriage I’ve had? Direct and covert?” Hux asked while he tugged Dopheld’s trousers and undergarments gently down.

“Thirty seven this quarter,” Dopheld said automatically. He was the one who catalogued them after all, though not all of them were entirely serious. 

Hux paused with his eyes closed, his face resting against Dopheld’s hipbone, his breath gusting slowly over skin that was flaccid from nerves and high emotions.

“Do you know the real political effect of accepting any of them?” He asked at last, his fingers making quick work of his own uniform. 

For some reason Dopheld’s brain decided to notice the fact that the Emperor was barefoot rather than providing an answer to the question.

“If I marry any of them, regardless of the reasons, it will start a war. By accepting one I refuse the rest. I would be scorning so many in favour of someone they consider their enemy or their rival. Any treaty I make with them will be tainted by the fact that I did not marry them…”

He stopped again, an arm wrapped around Dopheld’s waist as he kicked away his jodhpurs. 

“But if I marry you,” Hux continued, pressing punctuating kisses to the crease between Dopheld’s belly and thigh, “if I marry you, if I marry for love, if I marry because my heart will burst if I don’t make you mine, if I marry because you make me complete, well, that’s a love story for the ages, isn’t it?”

“You love me?” Dopheld asked quietly as Hux nuzzled at the patch of hair above his still uncertain cock. “Truly?”

Hux stood and pulled his jaw up for a deep searching kiss in a single swift movement that left Dopheld’s mind reeling. 

“Of course,” he murmured when they surfaced for air at last. “Have I never told you?”

Dopheld blinked at him, raising a hand to smooth the frown lines forming over the Emperor’s brow. “You’ve been busy.”

Hux turned back to the bed and snatched up the box again. “I should have told you, I felt it so strongly every day that I thought you already knew, but if you’ll wear this for me then you’ll know the truth of it for the rest of our lives, I swear…”

Dopheld silenced him with a kiss. He hadn’t ever expected his Emperor to end up like that, panicked and babbling like Dopheld did himself at times. He’d gone too far in this teasing, it was cruel to take it any further.

“I know! I knew, even if you never said it.” He wrapped his hands over Hux’ where he held the box between them. “But I still need you to tell me what my part in all this would be? I enjoy my role here, how much would change?”

Hux shrugged. “As much or as little as you wished. You would have to sit by me at certain official events but that wouldn’t mean you’d lose your role in organising them. You might have to take one or two official functions from the Lord Protector when I am off-planet but I doubt you or Kylo would object. They’d be mostly the ones involving paperwork, and Kylo has never excelled at those. Of course, if there are children…”

The logistics of that made Dopheld raise his eyebrows but Hux only smiled softly at his reaction and kissed him again.

“There are ways and means,” he said with a shrug, “we can discuss that later. If you want to marry me?”

Dopheld looked around the darkened room, searching for the splash of silver and red that was his Emperor’s crown. He finally saw it only a few feet away, resting on the dressing table amongst the scattered cosmetics. Hux frowned a little as Dopheld scooped it up and placed it firmly on his head.

“Ask me again.”

Hux laughed and dropped to his knees. “Marry me?!”

“Of course, my Emperor.” Dopheld bent at the waist, tipping Hux’ head back with a finger under his chin. He kissed him. “My Armitage.” He kissed him again. “My husband.”

Trembling hands pressed the circlet of songsteel onto his hair. There was a clatter as the box was discarded and then Hux had his arms wrapped firmly around Dopheld’s waist, his heaving chest pressed tight against his thighs.

Dopheld carded his fingers through the Emperor’s hair, noting the strands of silver beginning to appear at his temples, glittering in the softlight. He vowed then and there never to push him to such straits again. Whatever caused that silver, it shouldn’t be him.

He felt rather than heard the hum against his belly, Hux almost purring with contentment as he held him close. 

Somewhere in the palace grounds a clock chimed one o’clock. They had to be up in just six hours.

“Come to bed with me, husband of mine,” Dopheld said quietly, almost afraid to disturb the peace. “Tomorrow is the anniversary of your coronation. You need your sleep if you’re going to look your best.”

Hux stood, keeping his grip on Dopheld’s legs to effectively swing him up over his shoulder. “Sleep isn’t what I need, not in the slightest,” he laughed.

Dopheld squeaked, and clung to Armitage’s waist in panic. How the circlet stayed in place he didn’t know, but the undignified pose put the tempting curve of the Imperial ass in just the right place…

Hux gasped as Dopheld gave into temptation and bit him. 

It was going to be a long night.


End file.
